Trinity College
Trinity College Digital Repository
Watkinson Publications
Watkinson Library (rare books & special
collections)
2016
American Periodicals: Politics (Opportunities for
Research in the Watkinson Library)
Leonard Banco
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/exhibitions
Part of the Political History Commons
Recommended Citation
Banco, Leonard, "American Periodicals: Politics (Opportunities for Research in the Watkinson Library)" (2016). Watkinson
Publications. 23.
http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/exhibitions/23
Series Introduction
A traditional focus of collecting in the Watkinson since we
opened on August 28, 1866, has been American periodicals,
and we have quite a good representation of them from the
late 18th to the early 20th centuries. However, in terms of
"discoverability" (to use the current term), it is not enough
to represent each of the 600-plus titles in the online catalog.
We hope that our students, faculty, and other researchers will
appreciate this series of annotated guides to our periodicals,
broken down into basic themes (politics, music, science and
medicine, children, education, women, etc.), all of which
have been compiled by Watkinson Trustee and volunteer
Dr. Leonard Banco. We extend our deep thanks to Len for the
hundreds of hours he has devoted to this project since the
spring of 2014. His breadth of knowledge about the period
and his inquisitive nature have made it possible for us t o
promote a unique resource through this work, which has
already been of great use to visiting scholars and Trinity
classes. Students and faculty keen for projects will take note
of the possibilities!
Richard J. Ring
Head Curator and Librarian
POLITICS
Introduction
The Watkinson holds 2819th-century American magazines
with primarily political content, 11 of which are complete
runs. Since we are in New England, the earliest publications
support the policies of the Federalists. A particular strength
is in abolitionist material (1825- 1865) and, perhaps surprisingly, northern Democratic periodicals that supported slavery
and state's rights well before and during the Civil War. There
is also an interesting collection oflate 19th- and early 20thcentury socialist and internationalist periodicals. While
these magazines are primarily focused on politics, many of
them were more eclectic, especially as a repository for
publishing American authors of fiction and poetry. Likewise,
the more "general" magazines (i.e., with content overall too
general in nature to warrant classifying them into one subject)
often contain political and historical material that can be of
use to faculty and students pursuing research in the political
arena.
Dr. Leonard Banco
Trustee of the Watkinson Library
Porcupine's Political Censor
Republican Rush-Light
Philadelphia (November 1796-March 1797)
New York (vol. 1, 1800-vol. 1, no. 7, 1801)
This was one ofWilliam Cobbett's many politically combative
publications issued during a tense time in American domestic
and international affairs. The November 1796 issue contains
"observations on the insolent and seditious notes" of the
French Minister Adet, whose attempts at direct diplomacy
with the American people were met with scorn. The
December number thunders on about Congressional timidity,
spits vitriol toward France, and lashes out at Thomas Paine
for his attack on Washington and the Constitution. The
January 1797 issue includes great praise for John Adams,
belittlement of Madison, and on Jefferson: "He did not retire
merely to wander through the groves, to listen to the oaten
reed of the smutty swains, nor to solace his limbs in the silver
brooks of his modern Arcadia." Cobbett describes a "Festival
of Fools," which included Dr. Priestly, the French minister
Adet, and Chief Justice M'Kean of Pennsylvania, and also
writes about Franklin, Rittenhouse, and Rush. The March
issue, which is quite humorous, includes "Noah Webster's
attack on Porcupine," "Porcupine's Last Will and Testament,"
published in response to supposed threats on Cobbett's life,
and "An interesting Letter from a Gentleman in Switzerland,
to his friend in America, describing the situation of France."
The March edition was the ninth and final monthly issue of
Porcupine's Political Censor before Cobbett turned it into a
daily periodical called Porcupine's Gazette.
This magazine was edited, written, and published by
William Cobbett and was a successor to Porcupine's Gazette.
The content was focused almost entirely on an "action for
slander" commenced against Cobbett by Dr. Benjamin Rush,
"the noted bleeding physician of Philadelphia." Cobbett lost
the slander case, and the $5,000 ruling against him (a huge
sum of money in those days) caused his bankruptcy and led to
his return to England. The issue turned, among other points,
upon Rush's therapeutic use of frequent bleeding to treat
diseases and Cobbett's vociferous public opposition. In t he
end, Cobbett was right, and therapeutic bleeding was
ultimately abandoned. The title of the magazine is a play on
words, with "Rush" applying to a type oflighting device, as
well as the personification ofCobbett's scorn.
Connecticut Republican Magaz ine
Suffield, Connecticut
(vol. 1, no. 1, 1802-vol. 1, no. 6 , 1803)
An unusual Republican magazine in the heart of Federalist
Connecticut, Connecticut Republican Magazine claims to be
devoted to the "Truth, a thing to which many of the editors and
correspondents of Federal newspapers in the United States
pay very little attention." Excerpts from other Republican
journals, including the Aurora, are present throughout, as
well as reprints of the Declaration oflndependence, Common
Sense, and biographies of Thomas Jefferson and other
contemporary political figures. An attack on Aaron Burr
begins, "Ambition has guided all of his steps, cunning has
marked his career." The magazine repeats the charge that
Burr negotiated with Hamilton and the Federalists to secure
the presidency for himself in the 1800 election and is critical
of Hamilton as a monarchist, as well as Adams. The magazine
also published poems addressing political issues, such as
abolition of the slave trade.
2
The Balance, and Columbian
Repository
The Ordeal: A Critical Journal
ofPolitic ks and Literature
Hudson, New York
(vol. 1, 1802-vol. 7, 1808, complete)
Boston (January-July, 1809, complete)
This aggressively Federalist periodical published many
speeches, messages, and statements, often for the first time
in print. Transcripts of congressional proceedings with full
speeches appear, as well as one of the earliest accounts of
the Lewis and Clarke expedition - a letter from Lewis to
Jefferson. This magazine printed an early transcript of
Jefferson's 1802 State of the Union message to Congress as
well as the text of President Jefferson's Message to Congress,
wherein Jefferson discusses relations with foreign powers
(including the Delaware and other Indian tribes), the
Louisiana Purchase, the U.S. Navy, and the federal budget.
There are many pieces critical of the Republicans, written as
news articles but with a clear slant. One such article is aimed
at Attorney General Spencer for "outrage on the Liberty of
the Press." He draws up, or causes to be drawn up, in his own
office, a day or two previous to the sitting of the court, a bill
of indictment against the printer for publishing a libel on
Thomas J efferson. Croswell would later be tried for libel of
Jefferson and defended before the Supreme Court by
Alexander Hamilton. Interestingly, Hamilton invokes the
motives of"the framers of the Constitution" as justification
against Jefferson's policies. Overall, this is one of the best contemporary journals addressing the controversial period
of the J efferson presidency.
Edited by Joseph Buckingham, this Federalist journal
included serious reviews of political history as well as satire,
advocated for repeal of the Embargo Laws, and published
poetry and theater reviews.
Prodnlm that all around are free,
From • farlhehl Ind' lo each blue crag
That beell · o'er the \Ve<.tern Sea 1
And ihall we scotf at Europe's kings,
When F reedom's fire i · dim with us,
And round our country's altar clmgs
The damning ha.de of Slavery's curse 1
Go-let u ~ k of Constantine
To loose his gra.-.p on Poland's thrcmtAnd beg the lord ot l\lahmoud's line
To ~pare the truggling Suliolc.
,vm not the scorclung an ·wcr come
11
From lurbanctl 'fl)rk, and fiery Ru Go, loo~ your fettered slaves at home,
Then turn and ~k the like of u -1"
J. G.
Wlll'M'IER,
RECEIPT
soc.,1;1'Y.
Prorn TJcce111.bcr 20/h., 1&'31, to Jan. 20th, )835.
S5
isle, Pa., II. Duffield, moo . sub.
l
mplain, . Y . J. Churchill
.
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'innat1, Ohio, "Yilham Donald,,on
tfo1d, Pa., . '1 hatcher . . .
.
ltmgton, Ira~ ichols, 2; David Hawley l
lt~burg, Ohio, A. Clark, Jr.
.
.
.
!
v Garden, Ohio, ,vil~iain Griffith, mon. sub.
10
v York City, J. R ankm, moo. sub. .
.
8
.r;n;am ~ ..,,. ..n l r
IZ...'TO TIIE TREM<CRY OP ')'IIE AMERICAN A~TI-SLAV£RY
The Examiner
New York (vol. 1, 1813-vol. 5, 1816)
Containing political essays on the most important events
of the time, "This paper will be chiefly political ... its politics
will be Republican for it will strive to expose the dangerous
doctrines and insidious practices ... [which] have been
undermining our free system of government . ... Its politics
will moreover be Federal in as much as the union of the states
affords the greatest security to our Republican institutions ...
[we] will not cease to advocate a speedy peace ... the editor will
nevertheless delight in describing the exploits of American
Heroism ... national gratitude is best displayed in bestowing
substantial rewards on brave and honorable men." The
Examiner opposed the War of 1812 and was morose about
the state of the economy. It includes much commentary on
political figures, letters in response, speeches, etc.
3
African Observer
Philadelphia (1827-1828, complete)
In the prospectus, the following areas of focus are defined:
sketches of African history, ancient and modern; history, character, and incidents of slavery among the ancients; the African
slave trade; the nature and character of slavery in the islands
and on the continent of America including the internal slave
trade within the United States; principles of political economy
in relation to slave labor and consumption; biographical notices; considerable material on history and accounts of escaped
slaves with evidence and testimony against the slaveholders;
plans for improving the condition of slaves in t he United
States; list of African Free Schools in the United States; census of whites and slaves in various states; view of t he situation
and future prospects for the free population of the United
States. This is overall a good source for contemporary primary
and secondary material.
CRUELTIES OF SLAVERY.
Lien we narrate the cruelties of individual mas~ers. up~m th_ei
, it 1S not for the rurp<ise of exciting pubhc mdignat10
LSt those Illlblers nor of drn wing the inference that nil mru
lre equally cruel ; but to ,;how that cruelty is the fruit of lh
en. Ev~ry trt'.'e must be known by 1ts fruit'-. Cruelty mn
· under good nnd imparti1n laws, but then ir is in spite of th
not in conse.iuence of thein. On the other hand, where th
themselves violate rights, make one cl~ the property of anc
and withhold redre..;;s of "'rongs, cruclty1 in ten thousan
i i the neces.,!\ry resull.
If the amount ot cruelty pcrpetn
pon the slaves of this rer,oohc could be !mown to the worlc
,1. I.
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The Abolitionist
Boston (1833, complete)
I ts mission was "to promote the abolition of slavery and to
improve the condition of free people of color in the United
States." A focus was on the biblical sin of slavery and the use
of free labor in place of slaves, and it advocated immediate
emancipation through letters, poetry, and articles reprinted
from other periodicals, including those addressing slavery
in Northern states. Opposed to the American Colonization
Society, its position was that emancipated slaves remain in
the United States. This magazine carried an announcement
ofthe first annual meeting of the New England Anti-Slavery
Society and printed Rush ton's Expostulatory Letter to George
Washington (taking him to task as a slaveholder).
4
The Examiner, and Journal
ofPolitical Economy
Philadelphia (1833-1834)
The stated purpose of this publication was "to disseminate
the great principles of Constitutional Liberty [and] advocate
the Republican doctrines of '98, as set forth in the Virginia
and Kentucky Resolutions, and as maintained by Jefferson,
Madison, M'Kean, and the other distinguished champions
of State Rights and State Remedies." It published many
contemporary speeches on both sides of the issue as well as
reviews of the history of state's rights with reference to the
Constitution, the 1798 Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions,
etc. Many historical references are used as the basis for
contemporary political debate, including extracts from letters
and documents by Jefferson, Adams, Madison, and others.
"Political inconsistencies" were identified, such as in
statements by Daniel Webster, and criticisms proffered on
the ability of the judiciary to decide disputes between the
federal and state governments, since the judges were not
elected and did not represent the will of the people. Overall, it
provides great material and is useful in understanding the key
political issues of the antebellum period.
The Anti-Slavery Record
New York (vol. 1, 1835-vol. 3, 1837)
(all published)
The Anti-Slavery R ecord was a monthly publication of
the American Anti-Slavery Society, founded in 1833 in
Newburyport, Massachusetts, in the house of James Forten,
an African American abolitionist, and growing to a membership of some 200,000 by 1840. Among its founders was the
white abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, Forten's personal
friend. Devoted to abolition, its contents include articles on
the justification for emancipation using biblical passages,
poetry, true stories of runaway slaves, and excerpts from other
publications. Woodcuts illustrate many of the stories, and
considerable attention is paid to the African American
condition and the nature of slaveholders.
Quarterly Anti-Slavery Magazine
New York (vol. 1, 1835-vol. 2, 1837, complete)
The Quarterly Anti-Slavery Magazine contains original and
reprinted articles about slavery and the Bible, slavery and the
Constitution, and foreign intelligence, including the abolition
of slavery by Great Britain, the horrors of St. Domingo, and the
influence of slavery on slaveholders. Specific articles include:
"American Slavery vs. Human Liberty," by a Kentuckian; "The
Church Carried Along; Or, the Opinions of a D.D. on Slavery,"
by the Rev. Beiah Green, president of Oneida Institute; "The
Cause of Freedom in Our Country," by Dr. Charles Pollen;
"Slavery and the Constitution," by the Rev. Samuel J. May;
"The Rev. F.A. Cox, D.D. and His American Apologists"; and
"Land Piracy," by the editors. Our copy contains the autograph
of well-known American abolitionist Wendell Phillips.
United States Magazine and
Democratic Review
New York (vol. 1, 1837-vol. 40, 1857)
This was a highly regarded journal created to champion
Jacksonian Democracy, a movement that had often been
disparaged in the more conservative North American
Review. Its motto, "The best government is that which governs
least," was famously paraphrased by Henry David Thoreau
in "Resistance to Civil Government," better known as "Civil
Disobedience." The magazine featured political essays many of them penned by editor John O'Sullivan - extolling
the virtues of Jacksonian Democracy and criticizing what
Democrats regarded as the aristocratic pretensions of their
opponents. The journal supported Martin Van Buren in his
failed bid for the presidency in the 1840 election and James
K. Polk in his successful pursuit of that office in 1844. The
magazine published many biographies (Thomas Hart Benton,
Joel Poinsett, Nathaniel Macon) and book reviews, such as
Davis's biography of Aaron Burr, and a long critical review of
de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. The magazine is also
responsible for coining the term "Manifest Destiny," initially
in connection with t he annexation of Mexico and later
western expansion. The magazine was skeptical ofjudicial
review by the Supreme Court; the editor believed that "a
minority is much more likely to abuse power in the promotion
of its own selfish interest at the expense of the majority" than
the other way around. The Democratic Review also promoted
the development of American literature. Regular contributors
were Nathaniel Hawthorne and John Greenleaf Whittier,
with occasional contributions by William Cullen Bryant and
James Fenimore Cooper and some of the early work of Walt
Whitman, J ames Russell Lowell, and Henry David Thoreau.
It claims the first appearance of Walt Whitman's short story
"Wild Frank's Return," which some critics believe reflects
Whitman's relationship with his father. It was an important
magazine in the United States for more t han two decades
prior to the Civil War.
American Law Magazine
Philadelphia
(vol. 1, 1843-vol. 6 , 1846, complete)
Various aspects oflaw in t he mid-19th century were covered
in this publication, including t he application of debt payments,
consequential damages, the liability of cor porations, novation
(the substitution of a new contract or agreement for an old
one), and digests of significant English and American cases.
Dollar Globe
Washington, D.C.
(no. 1, 1844-no. 52, 1845, complete)
The Dollar Globe was founded "for the Presidential Canvass
of 1844 advocating the claims of James K. Polk and George
M. Dallas to the Presidency and Vice Presidency of the
United States." The editors saw Polk as the legitimate
successor to Jackson (an d Van Buren, who withdrew from
re-nomination). It includes the proceedings of the Democratic
National Convention in great detail, and there is considerable
material regard ing nativism, opposition to Henry Clay (the
Whig candidate), and the U.S. position regarding Mexico. A
lengthy letter from Jackson to the paper outlines his support
for the annexation of Texas, and political dispatches from all
over the United States are included, especially regarding
Democrats. There is also material on the Dorr Rebellion in
Rhode Island and detailed results of the 1844 election.
THE
0
8
......
FOK THE PRESIDENTIA L CANVA S8 OF 184~.
The Diamond
A.OVOCATl.!'(0
New York (1840)
"A depository for sound political principles and those
of political economy," The Diamond strongly supported
Jackson and Van Buren, excoriating the candidate William
Henry Harrison. Other articles were on gold and silver
currency, bills of exchange, bank notes, etc. The editors
were critical of young lawyers aspiring to politics and were
generally ant i-speculator and pro-labor.
rJTE C LAii\IS OF JAJ\IES IC. POLK AND GEO. l\T. DALLAS
TO TUC
PttESIOE"ICY AND VICE PR~DE.'W \' OP TIIE n ,ITED Sl'ATUS.
lfl, AIH AND R I V.,: Ji ,
1:0ITOlitS ,
C ITY OP WA S HINGTON :
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5
The Harbinger
New York (vol. 1, 1845-vol. 5, 1847)
Devoted to social and political progress, this paper was
founded at Brook Farm, edited by George Ripley, and
connected to a group known as the Phalanx, who were
pro-labor, pro-women's rights and proto-socialist. They also
opposed slavery and the Mexican War. Contributors included
Albert Brisbane, William Henry Channing, Horace Greeley,
J.G. Whittier, and James Russell Lowell. Literary works were
serialized, including "Consuelo" by George Sand and Charles
Fourier's "New Industrial World." There is a report on the
famine in Ireland, music reviews, political material opposing
slavery, and the war with Mexico, as well as other works on
New England transcendentalism.
The Spirit of the Age
New York (1849)
"This weekly paper seeks as its end the Peaceful Transformation of human societies from isolated to associated interests,
from competitive to cooperative industry, from disunity
to unity. Amidst revolution and reaction it advocates
reorganization. It desires to reconcile conflicting classes
and to harmonize man's various tendencies by an orderly
arrangement of all relations, in the Family, the Township, the
Nation, the World. Thus would it aid to introduce the Era of
Confederated Communities, which in spirit, truth and deed
shall be the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness, a Heaven
upon Earth." William Henry Channing, the editor, was born
in Boston, and when his father died, responsibility for his
education was assumed by his uncle, William Ellery
Channing, the preeminent Unitarian theologian of the early
19th century. He became warmly interested in the schemes
of Charles Fourier and others for social reorganization. He
moved to Boston about 1847, afterward to Rochester, New
York, and to New York City, where, both as preacher and
editor, he became a leader in a movement of Christian
socialism. In 1848, he presided over The Religious Union
of Associationists in Boston, a socialist group that included
many members of the Brook Farm commune. This magazine
by "Christian Socialists" was published by Fowler and Wells,
who were better known for their phrenology publications.
The magazine contained short stories, poems, news, reprinted
excerpts from J.S. Mill's "On the Laboring Classes," discussed
relations between man and property, and introduced the idea
of"a congress of nations."
6
Citizen of the World
Philadelphia (vol. 1, 1855)
This pacifist and to some degree proto-utopian socialist magazine was dedicated to "elevation of the lives and the world
through the Christian religion." Associated with the "Olive
Leaf Mission and Society," the magazine promoted world
peace based upon biblical teaching. Articles addressed the
financial cost of war and advocated a strike of the workers of
the world against war. It considered "free labor" as a Christian
responsibility. It wrote on behalf of"Free White Colonies" of
impoverished whites of the South and, more than 100 years
ahead of its time, suggested the abolition of the "smoke
nuisance" [smoking] in 1855. Some of the articles were
focused on children.
National Democratic Quarterly
Review
Washington, D.C. (vol. 1, 1859-vol. 3, 1861)
The salutation in the first issue states that its purpose is
"to publish a work which ... may be eminently useful to the
Democratic Party in asserting and defending sound principles.
Nothing will ever be printed which will in letter or spirit
encourage any departure from the strictest tenets of States
Rights Democracy" (this includes support of slavery). Topics
of articles include the outbreak at Harper's Ferry, President
James Buchanan, the San Juan question, foreign commercial
relations, Mexico, the politics of the Republican Party,
pro-slavery vs. abolition, and the military establishment in the
United States. Interestingly, a case is made for the idea that
the Constitution protects slavery and slave ownership under
freedom of religion.
The Old Guard
The Radical Review
New York (vol. 1, 1863-vol. 3, 1865)
New Bedford, Massachusetts
(vol. 1, no. 1-vol. 1, no. 2, 1877)
Edited by Charles Chauncy Burr, this "monthly journal devoted to the principles of 1776 and 1787" and "designed to unmask
t he usurpation, despotism and crimes of the Abolition Administration" was a Northern Copperhead pro-slavery magazine. It
was virulently opposed to the Civil War and was anti- Lincoln.
Quoting Calhoun, "If[abolition] lives, the nation must die."
The first issue addresses the cost of the war to the Northern
states. Another article warns that abolitionists such as Henry
Ward Beecher "will turn our country into an African jungle."
In January 1865, it recommends settling the war on the basis
of the 1798 Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions; in May, news is
published of Lincoln's murder, which is condemned. In June,
with the end of the war, the paper advocates for reunification.
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The editor Benjamin Tucker described the journal as "a
publication for the thorough, fearless and impartial discussion
of all sides of all subjects pertaining to h uman welfare,
whether social, economic, scientific, literary, aesthetic or
religious." Content allegedly contained "the most radical
thought of our t ime" and declared "Down with authority!" as
their war cry. Topics include science vs. religion, practical
socialism in Germany, the influence of physical conditions in
the genesis of species (evolution), and American financier s.
Contributors included William J. Potter, C.W. Ball, C.W. Earnst,
Edmund C. Stedman, Lysander Spooner, Joel H. Allen, Joseph
B. Marvin (an article on Walt Whitman), Dyer D. Lam,
Stephen Pearl Andrews, John Weiss, and Sydney H. Morse.
This magazine ran for only four issues, of which Watkinson
has the first two.
•u
Chic
New York (vol. 1, 1880-vol. 2, 1881, complete)
This humorous/ satirical political and social magazine in the
style of"Puck" fo r American audiences included full- page,
color political cartoons (mostly by Charles Kendrick) and
much on the presidential campaign of 1880, as well as theater
reviews and comments on society.
VOL. l.· No.8
NOVEMBER 3 . 1880.
rrlce 10 Cents.
The New Nation
New York (vol. 1, no. 2, March 21, 1864-vol. 1 no.
26, August 27, 1864)
The New Nation was a political, military, and literary newspaper, primarily devoted to identifying a candidate in the
election of 1864 in opposition to Lincoln, who was regarded
by the editors as dish onest and ruining the nation through the
Civil War. A gr oup of Republican dissidents calling themselves
Radical Republicans formed the Radical Democracy Party and
nominated John C. Fremont as their candidate for president.
Fremont withdrew in September 1864 and endorsed Lincoln.
The magazine printed detailed accounts of battles, a multiissue review of the Constitution, and verbatim accounts of
Fremont's nominating convention and the party platform.
THE OREAT NATIONAL WAOERI
7
The World Tomorrow
New York (vol . 13, 1930-vol. 17, 1934)
The Nationalist
Boston (vol . 1, 1889-vol. 2, 1890)
The World Tomorrow was a socialist and pacifist journal
founded by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, with well-known
figures of the day contributing articles. Among the authors
were Norman Thomas ("Socialism, the Way Out for America"),
Devere Allen, Reinhold Niebuhr, Bertrand Russell, Albert
Einstein ("Militant Pacifism"), and surprisingly, Douglas
McArthur, who wrote a rebuttal. In a 1931 editorial, the journal
posed the question, "Why breadlines in rich America?"
"In favor of the nationalization of industry and the promotion
of t he brotherhood of humanity." The Nationalist was
published by the Nationalist Educational Association, of
which Edward Bellamy was president; he contributed "How I
Came to Write Looking Backward." The Nationalist Movement
and the clubs that were organized as part of it were the direct
result of the effects of the publication of his book, which was
the largest best seller in the 19th century after Uncle Tom's
Cabin. Among other contributors were Edward Everett Hale
and Henry Willard Austin.
American Patriot
San Francisco (vol. 1, 1894-vol. 3, 1896)
This nativist, anti-Catholic magazine aimed to be "A fearless
defender of America, Americans and American Principles
and Institutions." Among the aims were that "true American
citizens be elected" without allegiance to foreign power or
potentate and all voters be able to speak, read, and write
English. The editors advocated for nonsectarian education in
opposition to parochial, especially Catholic, schools, opining
that teachers must all be American and teach American
patriotism. They also advocated a constitutional amendment
to prohibit any funding for nonsectarian institutions and
desired to increase the time of nat uralization to seven years
ofresidency and to suspend immigration entirely for some
number of years, after which to permit to enter only those who
possessed "good moral character" and who could read and
write English. More radically, they stated that only American
citizens should be able to own land, and any land currently
being owned/ used by noncitizens or foreign corporations
should be forfeited.
Socialist Spirit
Chicago (vol. 1, 1901-vol. 3, 1903, complete)
Published by "The Fellowship," a group organized for service
in the socialist movement, this title contains articles about the
great st eel strike and the assassination of President McKinley.
In 1901, it is noted that "the president of the United States is
the most powerful ruler in the world ... this makes our political
campaigns for that office feverish and unhealthy." It reports
approvingly on Booker T. Washington's dinner with Roosevelt
at the White House, in manifest opposition to racism.
8
Journal of Calendar Reform
New York (vol. 1, 1931-vol. 25, 1956, complete)
The Journal of Calendar Reform was published by the World
Calendar Association, which worked with the League of
Nations to promote a "World Calendar" with the goal of
convincing all nations to agree on a calendar of12 months,
with four quarters of31-30-30 days, a "Year Day" each year
between December 31 and January 1, and a Leap Day every
four years between June 30 and July 1. All holidays would be
on Mondays (an idea that has been largely adopted for U.S.
federal holidays), and each year starts on a Sunday. It was an
idea based on international unity that would benefit farmers,
clergy, and business. Included were articles on the history of
time, various calendars, and an entry by Gandhi, supporting
the idea. Unfortunately, despite significant support within
the League of Nations and later the United Nations, there was
strong opposition, particularly among Muslim nations, and
the idea - and the journal - was abandoned.
7.2016